A lidar system is described herein. The lidar system includes a transmitter that is configured to emit a frequency-modulated lidar signal. The lidar system further includes processing circuitry that is configured to compute a distance between the lidar system and an object based upon the frequency-modulated lidar signal, the processing circuitry configured to compute the distance with a first resolution when the distance is at or beneath a predefined threshold, the processing circuitry configured to compute the distance with a second resolution when the distance is above the predefined threshold, wherein the first resolution is different from the second resolution.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
2. The lidar system of claim 1, wherein a first size of the first range and a second size of the second range are based upon a first length of time of the first portion and a second length of time of the second portion, respectively.
3. The lidar system of claim 2, wherein the first portion is adjacent to the second portion in the piecewise linear frequency up-chirp.
4. The lidar system of claim 3, wherein the first range is adjacent to the second range.
5. The lidar system of claim 4, wherein Rx represents a point in time in the piecewise linear frequency up-chirp when the first portion ends and the second portion starts, and further wherein the transmitter is configured to alter the point in time represented by Rx based upon the distance between the object and the lidar system.
6. The lidar system of claim 5, further comprising a computing system that is configured to track positions of the object over time based upon distances computed by the receiver, and further wherein the computing system causes the transmitter to alter the point in time represented by Rx based upon the tracked positions of the object over time.
7. The lidar system of claim 6, wherein the computing system causes the transmitter to alter the point in time represented by Rx such that the first size of the first range is decreased and the first resolution is increased.
8. The lidar system of claim 1, wherein the receiver is operably coupled to a computing system of an autonomous vehicle (AV), and further wherein the computing system of the AV controls at least one of a steering system, a braking system, or a propulsion system based upon the distance computed by the receiver.
10. The AV of claim 9, wherein the computing system is further configured to control at least one of a steering system, a braking system, or a propulsion system based upon the distance to the object output by the lidar system.
11. The AV of claim 9, wherein the first portion ends and the second portion begins within the piecewise linear frequency up-chirp at a point in time that is represented by Rx, and further wherein a size of the first range is based upon the point in time represented by Rx.
12. The AV of claim 11, wherein the frequency-modulated lidar signal comprises a sequence of piecewise linear frequency up-chirps, and further wherein causing the lidar system to update the non-overlapping ranges and corresponding resolutions for the non-overlapping ranges comprises causing the lidar system to alter a position of the point in time represented Rx in different piecewise linear frequency up-chirps in the sequence of piecewise linear frequency up-chirps.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the first resolution is more granular than the third resolution.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein the first resolution is less granular than the third resolution.
17. The method of claim 13, wherein the lidar system computes the first distance at the first resolution when the first distance is less than a first predefined threshold, and further wherein the lidar system computes the first distance at the second resolution when the second distance is greater than the first predefined threshold and less than a second predefined threshold.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the lidar system computes the second distance at the third resolution when the second distance is less than a third predefined threshold, wherein the third predefined threshold is less than the first predefined threshold.
19. The AV of claim 9, wherein the first range is adjacent to the second range.
20. The AV of claim 9, wherein the piecewise linear frequency up-chirp comprises a third portion having a third slope that is different from the first slope and the second slope, wherein the lidar system is configured to output the distance to the object with a third resolution when the object is within a third range, wherein the third resolution is based upon the third slope.
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December 27, 2018
August 30, 2022
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